What is the difference between European liberals and American liberals?

Question

Serious answers please.

Answer 1

European ones are more numerous, and more liberal.

Answer 2

Even the American liberal hippies have better dental hygiene than the Europeans.

So that's my answer, oral hygiene.

Answer 3

European liberals are more likely to run on very liberal platforms, and emphasize labor issues. American liberals are less likely to do so because 1) America is more right-wing than most European nations, and 2) Duing the cold war McCarthy and company labeled anything liberal as "communist," effectively scaring Americans for a whole generation against social programs and labor policies.

That's true Jim S, we do. I plan to make a similar argument. It should be noted that European nations, especially the "libertarian left-wing quasi-socialist" nordic counties (Norway, Sweden, Finland) all have better health standards (universal healthcare), better education (high k-12 funding), and tend to live longer. The blue "New England" states are similarly educated, healthy, etc... while red "Bible Belt" states have horrible rates of education, poor health, high obesity rates, high teen pregnancy rates, etc...

Answer 4

Hard to answer unless you pick a specific country in Europe.  In general, I would agree that the spectrum starts further to the left in most of Europe, so a European liberal is likely to be "more" liberal than an American one.  The more interesting question is "How much difference there is between "liberals" and "conservatives" in America and between the same two in Europe?"  Much of Europe thinks it's a joke that we think we have two separate parties in America.  We all talk a big game about how big our differences are (especially on Y!A), but it's nothing compared to how wide the spectrum of political conversation is in most of Europe.

Answer 5

Well, I live in Istanbul, but I'm from the U.S. and I'd have to say that European liberals seem to genuinely care more about people and be more socially conscious because of people, but in America, I'd think that Americans want to be liberal to fix things, or to be right.

I dont know if that answers your question, but I think Europeans are more socially conscious in general bc they truly appreciate people, while Americans are more concerned about getting ahead in life and staying on top, and being 'politically correct' just because it's right.

Maybe that's wrong, but it's just my opinion.

Answer 6

I've actually heard that our liberals would be considered Conservatives in some Western European countries.

Answer 7

Very few if any differences. However, I would say this, There are vastly more liberals in Europe than in America. And if they are different, the liberals in Europe would be even more liberal than our liberals because they dont have a Constitution that is restricting and bold as ours.

But in the end, very few differences. Most liberals in America often say look how great Europe is. ANd when liberals debate universal health care, their best response tends to be, hey, look at the europe., thats the best they got.

Answer 8

Eurpoeans don't bathe as often

Answer 9

Liberalism is liberalism, no matter where it is practiced. But if pressed to comment on your question, I would say that in America, liberalism was tried about 100 years ago, it failed and passed from serious consideration. Its apparent revival and repackaging as "something new" is a recent development. In Europe, it was allowed to grow into the socialist states we now know as the European Union. The citizens of Europe are more tolerant of it because most have been born into a socialist-liberal society. One other subtle difference is that Europe is far more secular than the United States. Though liberalism in Europe is tied hard-and-fast to secularism, in the United States, there is at least a feeble attempt to incorporate some religion into the liberal framework. As a side note, I believe that European liberalism will fail in the next 20 to 30 years and the E.U. will be a thing of the past. Liberalism, when carried to its logical end, simply does not work.